SHARECountry Data
Slovenia (Republic of Slovenia) has a Bicameral parliament with the use of voluntary party quotas and legislated quotas for the single/lower house and at the sub-national level. 36 of 90 (40%) seats in the Drzavni Zbor / National Assembly are held by women.
At a glance
Structure of Parliament: Bicameral
Are there legislated quotas...
- For the Single/Lower House? Yes
- For the Upper House? No
- For the Sub-National Level? Yes
Are there voluntary quotas...
- Adopted by political parties? Yes
Is there additional information?...
- Yes
Last updated: May 17, 2022
Single/Lower House
Drzavni Zbor / National Assembly
| Total seats | 90 |
| Total Women | 36 |
| % Women | 40% |
| Election Year | 2018 |
| Electoral System | List PR |
| Quota Type | Legislated Candidate Quotas |
| Election details | IDEA Voter Turnout - IPU Parline |
| Legal source | Details | |
|---|---|---|
| Quota type: Legislated Candidate Quotas | Constitution | |
| Electoral law | ‘In a list of candidates, no gender shall be represented by less than 35% of the actual total number of female and male candidates on the list. The provision of the preceding paragraph shall not apply to a list of candidates containing three male or three female candidates, since a list of candidates containing three candidates must contain at least one representative of the opposite sex.’(National Assembly Elections Act 2006, Articles 43:6 and 43:7). |
|
| Legal sanctions for non-compliance | Electoral law | If the lists do not comply with this law, the electoral commission shall reject the list (Article 56). |
| Rank order/placement rules | No | None |
| Is the provision of direct public funding to political parties related to gender equality among candidates? | No | See more in International IDEA's Political Finance database |
| Are there provisions for other financial advantages to encourage gender equality in political parties? | Yes, funds earmarked for gender activities | Women organizations can obtain state subsidies to finance activities and projects related to women empowerment. See more in International IDEA's Political Finance database |
Upper House
Drzavni Svet / National Council
| Total seats | 40 |
| Total Women | 4 |
| % Women | 10% |
| Election Year | 2017 |
| Electoral System | |
| Quota Type | No legislated> |
| Election details | IPU Parline |
| Legal source | Details | |
|---|---|---|
| Quota type: No legislated | Electoral law | |
| Legal sanctions for non-compliance | No data available | |
| Rank order/placement rules | No data available |
Quota at the Sub-National Level
- Quota type: Legislated Candidate Quotas
| Legal source | Details | |
|---|---|---|
| Quota type: Legislated Candidate Quotas | Constitution | |
| Electoral law | The electoral law adopted in 2005 introduced a quota system for local elections, with the quota set at 20% for the first elections (held in 2006) and then gradually increased to 30%for the 2010 election and 40% for the 2014 elections (Local Elections Act 2005, Article 70). |
|
| Legal sanctions for non-compliance | Electoral law | If the lists do not comply with this law, the electoral commission shall reject the list (Article 74). |
| Rank order/placement rules | Electoral law | From the 2014 elections, the candidates in the first half of the lists must alternate by sex. During the transitional period up until 2014, it is regarded as sufficient that at least each third candidate is of the other sex (Article 70). |
Voluntary Political Party Quotas*
| Party | Official name | Details, Quota provisions | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Social Democrats | Socialni Demokrati [SD] | In 1992 the United List of Social Democrats introduced a firm 33 percent quota for both genders. In the 1996 election 42 percent of the party's candidates were women, but not even one of these got elected. The quota was changed from firm to soft in 1997, and the party has currently a 40 percent target. (In 2005 the party shortened it's name to Socialni Demokrati). | |
| Democratic Party of Pensioners of Slovenia | Demokratične Stranke Upokojencev Slovenije [DeSUS] | The candidate bodies of the party are obliged to take into account, in addition to other criteria, the appropriate representation of candidates of both sexes (Article 53 of the Party Statute). | |
| Slovenian National Party | Slovenske Nacionalne Stranke [SNS] | The composition of the membership by gender and by constituency shall be duly taken into account when running for office. There must be at least as many candidates (hereinafter referred to as candidates) on the list of candidates for each individual body. (Article 19 of the Party Statute) |
* Only political parties represented in parliament are included. When a country has legislated quotas in place, only political parties that have voluntary quotas that exceed the percentage/number of the national quota legislation are presented in this table.
Additional Information
The National Assembly comprises 90 deputies, of which 88 are elected from eight constituencies by proportional representation from open party lists. Each constituency is divided into 11 electoral districts and one deputy is elected per district. Voters may vote for only one candidate, rather than voting for the party’s entire candidate list. The remaining two deputies are elected by simple majority preferential vote from the Italian and the Hungarian national communities respectively. Parties must obtain at least 4 per cent of the valid votes cast in order to win a seat.
The National Assembly Elections Act adopted in 2006 contained transitional provisions applicable to the 2008 National Assembly elections, whereby party lists had to include at least 25 per cent female candidates. The number of women members in Slovenia’s parliament in 2008 increased only by one (therefore increasing the female membership in percentage from 12 per cent to 14 per cent compared to the previous election in 2004). In 2004, Slovenia’s parliament voted for a change to the Constitution allowing affirmative action in politics. In 2003, a 40 per cent quota for European Parliament elections was adopted by the parliament (including rank-order rules: at least one candidate of each sex figures in the first half of any list, and sanctions are applied for non-compliance).
Sources
LEGAL SOURCES:
- Zakon o volitvah v državni zbor (uradno precišceno besedilo) [National Assembly Elections Act, official consolidated text] no. 109/2006 of 23 October 2006,
- Zakon o lokalnih volitvah [Local Elections Act],
- OSCE. Electoral Code and Constitution of Slovenia (Eng).
OTHER SOURCES:
- Dahlerup, D. and Freidenvall, L. (eds), Electoral Gender Quota Systems and Their Implementation in Europe (Brussels: European Parliament, 2008)
-
Inter-Parliamentary Union, IPU Parline Solvenia
Additional reading
- Yandam, C. (2018). Gender Quotas and Women’s Political Participation in Slovenia and Croatia: When Similar Historical Developments and Homogeneity of Design Yield Different Outcomes. [The Cupola: Scholarship at Gettysburg College]
- UN Women. (2016). Information of the Republic of Slovenia on implementation of Slovenian commitments made at 2015 Global Leaders' Meeting on Gender Equality and Women's Empowerment.
- European Parliament. (2015). The Policy on Gender Equality in Slovenia. Study for the FEMM Committee. [Directorate-General for Internal Policies]
- Černe, M. (2014). Women's participation in Slovene politics. [Last Accessed: 2022-01-10]
- Pleš, T., Nahtigal, K., & Murko Pleš, A. (2013). Women in Politics in Slovenia. Institute for Social Creativity.
- Antic, M.G and Lokar, S. 2006. 'The Balkans: from total rejection to gradual acceptance of gender quotas', in Dahlerup, D. (ed.) Women, Quotas and Politics, London/New York: Routledge, pp. 138-167.
- Antić, M.G. and Gortnar, M. 2004. ‘Gender Quotas in Slovenia: A short analysis of failures and hopes’, European political science, 3, 3: 73–81.
- Antić, M.G. and Ilonszki, G. 2004. Women in Parliamentary Politics, Hungarian and Slovene Experiences Compared, Ljubljana: Peace Institute.
- Antić, M.G. 2004. ‘Women in Slovene Parliament: Below the Critical Mass’, in M.G. Antić and G. Ilonszki (eds) Women in Parliamentary Politics, Hungarian and Slovene experiences compared, Ljubljana: Peace Institute, pp. 81–116.
- Stability Pact Gender Task Force (SPGTF). 2002. 'Building National Gender Equality Mechanisms in South East Europe – Women's Use of the State'.
- Hrženjak, M. (ed.) 2002. Making Her Up: Women’s Magazines in Slovenia, Ljubljana: Peace Institute.
- Jalušič, V. 1999. ‘Women in Post-Socialist Slovenia: Socially Adapted, Politically Marginalised’, in S.P. Ramet (ed.) Gender Politics in the western Balkans: Women, Society and Politics in Yugoslavia and the Yugoslav successor States, Pennsylvania: Pennsylvania State University Press, pp. 51–66.
- Jalušič, V. 1994. ‘Troubles with Democracy: Women and Slovene Independence’, in J. Benderl and E. Kraft (eds) Independent Slovenia: Origins, Movements, Prospects, New York: St. Martin’s Press, pp. 135–58.
- Republic of Slovenia, Electoral Commission
- Republic of Slovenia, National Assembly. Slovene Constitution.
- Slovenia Parliament website, http://www.dz-rs.si/
- Statistical Office of the Republic of Slovenia. Elections. http://www.stat.si/statweb/en/home
- Government of the Republic of Slovenia, Public Relations and Media Office, www.gov.si.